you are a
professional
in the food service sector?

Are you a restaurant owner, caterer, baker or pastry chef, or do you run a pub or bar – either as your main or secondary business? You are subject to waste sorting and reuse obligations. By complying with these, you help to reduce the environmental impact of your business.

CITEO PRO can help you set up an effective waste sorting system within your premises.

What is your role?

Since 2016, as a restaurant owner and/or bar manager, you have been required to set up separate collection schemes for the following waste streams with a view to their recovery: paper and cardboard, metal, plastic, glass, wood and, since January 2024, bio-waste. This separate collection is compulsory if your waste is collected by a private contractor or if you generate more than 1,100 litres per week collected via the public waste collection service.

The AGEC Act also encourages you to limit the use of single-use plastic packaging (straws, cups, cutlery, etc.). Furthermore, it sets ambitious targets for reuse, aiming to ensure that 10 per cent of packaging placed on the market in France is reused by 2027.

What’s the point
of sorting your packaging properly?

Greater savings

Effective sorting reduces the number of items rejected during sorting and lowers collection costs.

Regulatory compliance

By complying with your obligations, you can avoid any potential additional costs and penalties. 

Environmental performance

If waste is not sorted properly, it is not processed correctly and its environmental impact increases.

Properly sorted waste is waste that is processed more effectively.

Each waste stream follows a specific route to be recycled, processed or converted into energy, thereby avoiding landfill.

Plastic, metal, cardboard and paper packaging

Once collected, this waste is transported to recycling plants where it is sorted and processed. It is then turned into new packaging or products. Non-recyclable materials are sent to energy-from-waste facilities.

Glass

After collection, the glass is transported to a specialised plant where it is remelted to create new packaging.

Please note: some containers can also be returned for reuse through a deposit-and-return scheme. Please feel free to ask your partner for more information.

Biowaste

Food waste and other organic waste are sent to specialised treatment centres.

They will be converted into biogas, which is used as a source of energy, or into compost to enrich agricultural soil.

Used oil

The collected cooking oils are transported to specialised treatment centres, where they are purified. They are then converted into biofuel (10 litres of oil yield approximately 8 litres of biodiesel) or used to produce biofuels or technical oils.

Household waste

When waste cannot be sorted, it is sent to an incineration plant where it is used to generate energy in the form of heat or electricity.
As a last resort, household waste may also end up in landfill.
Reducing the volume of household waste is therefore essential to minimising the environmental impact of waste.

Reducing waste at source through reuse

In some cases, we can take action on packaging by trying to reduce it at source. The use of reusable packaging is an excellent alternative in this regard. Whilst not all containers are (yet) suitable for this, reusable solutions are already available:

  • For glass kegs and bottles: check with your wholesaler or business partners – many of them already offer reusable solutions that include delivery, collection and washing.
  • For takeaway orders: you can encourage your customers to bring their own containers or set up a deposit scheme; some partners may even offer turnkey solutions with washing included.

find out more